I have returned to Virginia, but not without seeing my sister as well as my “sistahs” in Atlanta.

Bess

My sister Bess appears to be doing well. She has been decorating and painting her own place and it looks terrific. In fact it may look too good. dad was talking about possibly moving in with her. There seems to be a new fellow in her life. He dropped by during our visit and it is nice to see her getting her “groove” back. She told me they have only kissed, and since I am a big fan of Victorian Novels I believe men and women can still fall in love before they actually “seal the deal”. Of course, I’ve told both my sisters, I think we are passed the age of worrying about being labeled sluts at school the next day, so just go for it.

11:30am Every Sunday

It was really great meeting up with my girlfriends for our traditional sunday lunch at our favorite Korean restaurant. Holly, Debra, Kristi and Lauren were able to make it. We were able to catch up and laugh like old times. Despite all the benefits of living in a place like Tokyo, this I miss. I love how you can spend time with friends and think you know them and then out of the blue, you discover something fresh. Like, who knew Lauren and Kristi could play tennis? I’m so bringing back bikini tennis.

Charlotte Ann, Me, & Tracy

I was also lucky to break bread with Charlotte Ann and Tracy. These two are my best friends who are moms without being “mom-friends” if you know what I mean. They are in the know about all things school-related and the neighborhood, but they have such interesting perspectives and senses of humor that I almost forget we have kids. Cool moms, we are not alone.

In a couple of weeks, I will get to see my girlfriend from graduate school days. Beth is one of my most enduring friends. Back in the day, she and I swore to one another we would be part of the OBC (One Baby Club). We had places to go and companies to conquer. Then, girlfriend got married and signed up for the “God’s Will” birth control program. Last I checked, Beth is due late August mid September with her 5th child!

I’m only missing out on seeing my other girlfriend Becky in Charleston and my Colorado friend Jasmin. I also met Becky in grad school. One of the things I love about Becky is unbeknownst to me, she earned a PhD in Disney World. She has reference texts at her house. I will have to see Jasmin on another trip, but spending time with son Brian was almost as good. Maybe even better.

Like it or not, wives are usually the social directors for the family. Seeing my dad try to redefine who he is without my mom is a little painful. Especially because I see how he longs for friendship. Debra and I have often talked about how some men seem to kind of coast through life and not really be interested in establishing other male friends or partaking in “boys night out”. I know Cliff is like this and so is my dad. There may be friends who are still in the contacts folder from many years ago, but newer friends have not been added. I have to admit that making special friends as you get older is tougher to do. People have asked me why I don’t do Facebook. There are many reasons for me, but one of the biggest is my belief that Facebook/Mark Zuckerberg has bastardized the word “friend”. Maybe what he’s done is actually created a new class of friend: Facebook Friend Only. Either way, it was one of the reasons I didn’t want to keep doing it.

If you hear me call you a friend, know that you really are that to me.

Until next time…